| Community
Video Production
Unlike
many documentaries, in which the director approaches
a subject they are interested in recording and studying,
The Visible Community approached Round Point Movies
to document their work. In essence, they were the “Producers”
of this film and RPM was working with them to produce
a record of their achievements.
In order to successfully implement a “Community
Video Production” process, it was necessary to
develop methods of achieving consensus on ideas before
they would be committed to cinema history.
To
develop the movie, there were multiple workshops conducted
with the Visible Community before, during, and after
the editing process in order to make sure that the content
was consistent with what the Visible Community wanted
from this project. Here are the major guidelines the
Visible Community identified:
1.
The film is about The Visible Community and their
story of community organizing.
2.
The major Plot Points include Stopping the Road, Moving
the CCI Project, Protesting the Ritz, Advocating for
Maple Street Park, Developing the People’s Downtown
Master Plan, and Getting Tina Bailey elected to City
Council.
3.
The film must be positive and focus on the positive
efforts of the Visible Community. It is okay to identify
wrong-doing on the part of the city or other players
in the film, but it should only be done in order to
establish what the Visible Community was trying to
overcome.
4.
The film should be mostly narrated by Visible Community
members through their interviews.
5.
Interviews should be gathered from as many Visible
Community members as possible.
6.
*If possible, an interview with someone from the City
should be included to hear their views on our work.
7.
Movie length should be dependent on the natural amount
of time it takes to tell the story.
Using
these guidelines and a “Significant Events History/Timeline
of the Visible Community,” a script was developed
and presented to the Visible Community for feedback
and review. The script was used to guide interview questions
and structure the film’s scene order and pace.
Once the first edit of the film was complete, a private
viewing was held for the Visible Community. Feedback
was used to guide the second edit of the movie, which
was finally approved by the group. Two other segments
of the film were also shared with two people who had
participated in interviews for those scenes. They also
had feedback that was used to correct those segments
and ensure their accuracy.
*Due
to time constraints, the filmmakers did not schedule
an interview with a representative of the City |
